The Baptist Story by David Potter, Ph.D.

 

The Baptist Story.pdf

About the Author

Dr. David Potter, Missionary to Hungary, holds a B.A. and M.Div. from Maranatha Baptist

Bible College, and a Ph.D. in New Testament from Bob Jones University. He taught church history and Baptist history for twelve years at San Francisco Baptist Theological Seminary. He now serves as a missionary in Pécs, Hungary, with Baptist World Mission, training national Christians for the ministry and Christian leadership. Dr. John Mincy says that Dr. Potter is "a fine scholar with a warm heart."

Foreword

This essay suffers two related disadvantages. First, I must summarize many centuries of

history concerning wide geographical areas in only a few pages. Second, I do not have space to dwell on the lives of individuals. The ingredient that makes history exciting is the story of the individual. If you don't believe this, ask yourself why the historical sections of the Bible are such gripping examples of literary art. Surveys like this one tend to be dry. Please bear with me.

Introduction

Few groups of people have been so persecuted for their views as the Baptists. Baptists cannot trace their history to some dynamic founder during the Reformation like a Luther or a

Calvin or a Knox. Their only claim to validity is their dependence on Scripture alone for their

doctrine and practice. Their commitment to the Scriptures to dictate their practice, as well as their beliefs, distinguishes Baptists from the Protestants, who protested only what was unacceptable to them in the Roman Catholic Church, yet retained some unbiblical practices. While Protestants generally desired religious liberty for themselves, the Baptists sought freedom of worship for

everyone. We as Baptists can take great encouragement from the history of those who have passed the torch of truth down to us.

Origins

The origin of the Baptists is a controversial subject. Baptist historians have advanced three

major views of Baptist roots: the Successionist Theory, the Spiritual Kinship Theory, and the

English Separatist Theory. The Successionist Theory contends that an unbroken succession of

churches have taught and practiced Baptist principles from the time of the New Testament.

The Spiritual Kinship Theory contends that, although a visible succession is not provable, Baptist churches have always existed since the time of the apostles.

The English Separatist Theory states that modern Baptists began as an offshoot of the English Separatist movement. Any connection with earlier groups is historically unproven.

All three views contain elements of truth. While there is no historical proof of a direct succession of the English Separatist Baptists from earlier groups holding Baptist principles, the idea of someone going out freelance and starting a church purely on his own is contrary to the scriptural pattern. Churches starting churches and churches sending missionaries to start churches have always been the norm for Baptists. Men like Roger Williams and John Smyth (see below) started fresh because they did not know of any alternative. On the other hand, modern Baptists were not the first group to hold to the principles that we now call the Baptist Distinctives. Adherence to the Baptist Distinctives defines what a Baptist is, not the Baptist name. The early English Baptists were aware of the Anabaptists both in England and on the Continent. These Baptists knew that they held similar beliefs to the Anabaptists, but they also knew that they differed in several ways.

I will not be able to resolve the problem of Baptist origins in a short paper, but we can make

one confident assertion. Imagine that all traditional theological views were erased from the earth and only the Bible remained. Tomorrow "there would be Baptists."1 Doctrine and practice based squarely on the New Testament is true apostolic succession.

1. J. H. Shakespeare, Baptist and Congregational Pioneers, p. 4, cited by H. Leon

McBeth, The Baptist Heritage, p. 63.

What John MacArthur Believes About Everything

Jerry: This post is not to clearly show (John MacArthur) teaches something heretical. Instead, this post is to present his beliefs and compare them with the Bible. The correct word I would use is aberrant concerning the doctrines he has that is based on strong Calvinism's TULIP.

We often hear the words “heresy” and “aberration” used in reference to unbiblical doctrines. But what exactly is the difference between a doctrine that is aberrational and one that is heretical?

Aberrant Doctrine Definition

Aberrant doctrine is a particular teaching does not overtly deny basic biblical theology but is nevertheless dangerously inconsistent with an orthodox confession of faith. A good example of this would be the “prosperity” teachers who are growing like wildfire within Christian denominations — doctrines of this variety are referred to as aberrations. Thus, a group may be orthodox in its central theology while at the same time maintain teachings and practices that are clearly at odds with essential Christian theology.

RELIGIOUS HERESY- Definition
The word “heresy,” in its most common usage, refers to false teachings that destroy. They are destructive because they overturn the basic elements which make up the historic Christian faith, substituting in their place doctrines which distort or contradict the teachings found in the Bible.

RELIGIOUS HERESY- The Essentials
The doctrines of the Trinity, the unique deity of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection are among the essentials of Christianity. They represent the core of Christian belief as contained within the pages of Scripture, and they compose what is commonly called “orthodox theology.” And thus, heresies are teachings which openly deny any one of these fundamental doctrines. Examples of heresies include the Mormon doctrine that there are many gods, and that you may become one, as well as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who clearly deny the Trinity.

Source: https://www.equip.org/perspectives/heresies-and-aberrations-what-is-the-difference/

This post to present information so you can draw your own conclusions.

Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, 1 Thessalonians 5:20 & 21

What John MacArthur Believes About Everything

https://youtu.be/7zkV5-fQMQ8?si=Ay9qBoOgPsxI_8rr

Ready to Harvest

John MacArthur is one of the most well-known pastors in America. The 85 year-old preacher has been the pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969 and is the Chancellor of The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary. He is the sole editor of the MacArthur Study Bible, which has sold over a million copies, and has also written or edited over 150 books. His radio program Grace to You is played on stations worldwide.

But what does he believe?

---------------------------------------------------
Middletown Bible Church about John MacArthur's Teachings

John MacArthur and Dispensationalism

And Our Response

MacArthur Answers A Question About Dispensationalism

The following question was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and answered by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-16, titled "Bible Questions and Answers." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

https://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/dispen/jmacdis.htm

John MacArthur's

Position on the Lordship of Christ

https://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/salvatio/lordshjm.htm

The following is intended to document some of Dr. MacArthur's teachings which relate to Lordship salvation in order to see some of the inconsistencies of his position. We hold no animosity toward Dr. MacArthur. Our desire is only to "prove all things", by testing all things by the Word of God, to see if they are true (1 Thess. 5:21; Acts 17:11). Dr. MacArthur's teachings have a worldwide impact, and his doctrines should not be embraced without subjecting them to the searchlight of the Scriptures.

John MacArthur's One Nature Position

Introduction

https://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/1natjmin.htm

The purpose of these series of studies is to carefully document and explain John MacArthur’s teaching that the believer in Christ possesses only one nature, the new nature in Christ. This documentation was obtained from his published writings and from his public tapes.

The Scripture tells us to “prove all things (test all things by the Word of God), hold fast that which is good.” We want to do this in the case of John MacArthur’s teachings. Our desire has been to do this fairly and graciously, but at the same time to point out where, how and why certain positions which John MacArthur has taken are out of harmony with the Word of God and out of harmony with the doctrinal position of the IFCA. We hold no animosity towards John MacArthur, but because of the far reaching influence which he has in and among our churches, it is necessary to examine his teachings and warn believers concerning those doctrines that are not in harmony with what the Bible says.

This material was originally prepared for and presented to the National Executive Committee of the IFCA along with materials of a similar nature submitted by other concerned IFCA brethren. Another key issue of concern was John MacArthur's position on the Eternal Sonship of Christ. https://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/sonship/sonjm00.htm

John MacArthur's Position on the Extent of the Atonement

As Compared to the IFCA Doctrinal Statement

https://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/reformed/macatone.htm

John MacArthur was Finally Removed from the IFCA (February 2017)

In January of 2017 John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue published the book Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth. In this book is a section on "The Extent of the Atonement" where John MacArthur's position on limited atonement is made crystal clear. The IFCA International Executive Director, Les Lofquist, based on this book, recognized that MacArthur's position was in clear conflict with the IFCA doctrinal statement. As a result, John MacArthur was kindly asked to withdraw from membership in the IFCA. MacArthur responded to this request by graciously withdrawing himself from being a member of the IFCA (Feb. 23, 2017).

Les Lofquist and the IFCA leadership did the right thing. They upheld the doctrinal integrity of the IFCA by not allowing a person to hold membership who holds to a deviant view. I do not understand why it took the IFCA over twenty years to take this action because John MacArthur's limited atonement position has not changed in these past two decades, as this study has demonstrated. It is not as if all of a sudden he started teaching that Christ died only for the elect and not for all mankind. He has been teaching this for over twenty years. I am thankful, however, that the right thing was finally done.

 

Neo Calvinism vs. The Bible; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ5WZ9aWBhyiIbTivo-1se-Gckn1uh4Ot&si=v9Y6Yxs5CN6J7M4n

We're embarking on a new series this is not a book study. This is a topic uh study and the title of this is what I would call Neo-Calvinism versus the Bible.

A lot of people wanting to go back to the teachings of John Calvin today who was an interesting person. He brought some good and he brought some bad um he lived from 1509 to 1564 and you know we're going to be going into all of this but as the as the study unfolds but there is a movement today that I call Neo-Calvinism and they're very aggressive and it's my conclusion that a lot of the things they say are not directly supported by the Bible and so that's sort of what this series is about and don't worry I'm going to have a lot of opportunity to back up that statement.

I'm just giving you a taste of what's coming so here is a six-part outline that we're going to use as we go through this teaching together this will go several weeks.

Numeral 1 that we'll talk about today called Calvinism's mixed blessing there's some good things that come out of Calvinism I'll try to show you show.

Numeral 2 is why would we get into this why critique Neo- Calvinism and so we're going to spend some time talking about that.

Numeral 3 we're going to get into the subject of the source of Calvin's theology so a lot of people kind of look at John Calvin as somebody that was just a guy that exceed the scripture and he did that in certain instances. but people that think that really don't understand where Calvin drew his ideas from. He drew them from a source called Augustine who lived over a century ago, a thousand years earlier than Calvin. and so Augustine his beliefs are kind of a mixed bag. So you'll see once you study Augustine you'll see he was very mixed, a lot of the things he said were a little bit were off and that's why Calvin carried over a lot of things from4 Augustine into reformed churches today. So you'll you'll still see a lot of that fuzzy teaching in reformed churches today.

Numeral 4 we're going to get into Calvin's manner of life, I mean what kind of person was this that everybody's following John Calvin. Did he lived some kind of completely sanctified life? Hardly as I'll show you

Numeral 5 is where we're going to spend the bulk of the series going through the Calvinistic theology known through the anacronym T.U.L.I.P. It's a logically arranged theology and as you'll see some of it is biblical some of it is not. As I'll show you T.U.L.I.P stands for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and the Perseverance of the Saints. Then so we're going to spend a lot of time going through each of those letters you know "here's what the Neo- Calvinists are saying and here's what the Bible says.

Numeral 6 assuming the Rapture doesn't happen first and we'll get to a conclusion that Neo-Calvinism is a philosophy >>read into the Bible<< it's not a theology >>derived from the Bible<<. It's a man made philosophy read back into the Bible

So that's sort of the direction that we're moving in I hope you're interested in this. At some point in someone's life they get hit with Calvinism by somebody. You hear so much about Calvin and Calvinism we have all of these young people that are converting to Calvinism they're called the Young reformed and restless.

You know it's almost like a test of fellowship with certain Christians to see if you stand on Calvinism, first thing they want to know about and so since there's all this noise made about it we want to you know do some examination of it so that's sort of the direction that we're moving in.

01. Second Thessalonians 3:14–15

Andy Woods

02. Second Peter 1:19

03. Revelation 20:1-10

04. Zechariah 2:8

05. Romans 11:17-18

06. Matthew 28:19

07. Ephesians 1:10

08. Matthew 7:16-18

09. Matthew 7:16-18

10. Matthew 7:16-18

11 - Galatians 5:22

12. Jeremiah 17:9

13 - Genesis 8:21

15. Genesis 3:22

16. Ephesians 2:1-5

17 - Acts 17:27

18. John 5:40

19. Isaiah 55:8-9

20. Acts 17:30

21. Acts 13:48

22. Deuteronomy 7:7-8

23- Exodus 4:21

24. John 1:29

25. 1 John 2:2

26. Romans 4:4-5

27. Rom. 4:4-5

Calvinism and Romans 9, 10, 11

 

Calvinism and Romans 9, 10, 11
Time start: 13:18
https://www.youtube.com/live/dilS6onGGtg?si=EpcBg--Mjy9FU8KD&t=798

The MacArthur Study Bible

 

The MacArthur Study Bible

#24 Neo-Calvinism vs. The Bible

Limited Atonement

John 1:29

https://youtu.be/bFmsUNyNEBQ?si=IUopAbACzsvK8LgT

John the Baptist went through here he's doing his thing he's baptizing people they're identifying with his message and Jesus shows up to be baptized by John and John

knows who Jesus is and he says "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the the world." Not the elect the world so so if you're a five pointer how do you handle this?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

The Son's mission is bound up in the supreme love of God for the evil, sinful "world" of humanity... Ref-0089 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997)

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

. . . In this context "world" has the connotation of humanity in general, but not specifically every person. Ref-0089 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997)

Look at what John MacArthur writes on John 1 29 where it says the sin of the world and this is what you'll read in this context the world has the connotation of humanity in general but not specifically every person see that so the world is redefined as it's just kind of an umbrella statement of the human race but he's not talking about every person here. When John the Baptist says seeing Jesus coming behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world you're not to understand that as every person it's just kind of an umbrella category for the human race. 

You know a lot of people get mad at me because I point these things out with John MacArthur and the MacArthur Study Bible. People like the MacArthur Study Bible it's got a lot of good maps in it and colorful pictures and outlines of the Bible. "What's the matter with you pastor why won't you recommend the MacArthur Study Bible to people?  Well it's because of stuff like this. I mean what do you need to poison something if I'm going to poison a glass of water I don't have to pollute the whole

cup of water I just need to put a little drop or two in. So people just kind of because they like other things John MacArthur says he's good on creation and or whatever, he's taking a stand against the purpose-driven church they just buy into everything the man says and they're getting spoon-fed constantly this five-point Calvinism including the most controversial point in Calvinism you know this limited atonement idea. That's the reason I don't promote the teachings of John MacArthur for that very reason. This is just one of many areas I could talk about his view of lordship salvation is off salvation is not receiving a free gift it has to do with your willingness to lay down your life for Jesus so he's confusing justification with spiritual growth he does this constantly in his commentaries and notes he takes things out of context. 

I'll show you this with the perseverance of the saints: Matthew 24:13 "he who endures to the end will be saved" when you're reading John MacArthur's commentary on the Olivet discourse and he's doing a really good job with it and then he hits verse 13 and it's like the guy just loses his mind he leaves the context, he dumps into verse 13 all of this Calvinistic perseverance of the saints stuff that you've got to make it to the end of your life in good works and faith or you're not one of the elect and then when he's finished with verse 13 it's like he gets his sanity back and he goes back to a normal verse by verse reading of verse 13 when verse 13 is talking about the nation of Israel at the end of the tribulation period it's got nothing to do with I've got to make it to the end of my life and good works to prove I'm one of the elect it's got to do with if the nation of Israel.

__________________________________________________________

Interpretive Bias of the MacArthur Study Bible

https://www.spiritandtruth.org/questions/406.htm?x=x#Ref-0089

Q: You recommend highly the  MacArthur Study Bible, but I know he was instrumental in the Lordship Salvation movement which you oppose (as do I).  Does it concern you that the study notes might be slanted toward a reformed view and make dispensational study and soteriology unclear?  I have a MacArthur Study Bible but seldom use it because I am suspect of lens through which he interprets scripture. Thank you.

A406 : by Tony Garland

Your concern is valid: like any study Bible or commentary, the MacArthur Study Bible (MSB) will show bias toward the theological interpretations of its editors. As you mentioned, the MSB is slanted toward a reformed view of soteriology (salvation) including an emphasis on the lordship of Christ as determinative of one's true salvation experience along with support for limited atonement.

We can discern the MSB support for limited atonement in the notes pertaining to the word world as it occurs in both John 1:29 and John 3:16. See if you can spot the tell-tale sign of a limited atonement bias in the notes which follow (I’ve added emphasis to help).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

The Son's mission is bound up in the supreme love of God for the evil, sinful "world" of humanity...1

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

. . . In this context "world" has the connotation of humanity in general, but not specifically every person.2

In both passages, the notes place the word world in quotes — your first tip-off that the interpreter is not going to take the word at face value, but substitute an alternative meaning—here a subset of the world: only the elect, those who exercise faith.

Another example, this time of a slant toward lordship salvation, is found in the MSB study notes concerning Jesus' teaching of the True Vine (John 15:1-8).

Despite Jesus' clear statement, 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit . . . (John 15:2), the MSB is convinced that branches that do not bear fruit cannot be believers and their burning must refer to eternal destiny in hell.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6)

The imagery here is one of destruction (cf. Matt. 3:10–12; 5:22; 13:40–42, 50; 25:41; Mark 9:43–49; Luke 3:17; 2 Thess. 1:7–9; Rev. 20:10–15). It pictures the judgment awaiting all those who were never saved.3

Contrast the view of the MSB with that of the Ryrie Study Bible:

they are burned. This refers to the works of the believer. The Christian who does not abide in Christ cannot do what pleases God: therefore, his works will be burned at the judgment seat of Christ, though he himself will be saved (1Cor. 3:11-15).4

Yet another example of both the lordship salvation and limited atonement tendency of the MSB can be found in the interpretation of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price.

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Mat. 13:44-46)

Predictably, in the MSB, the believer is the one who must perform.

These two parables (Mat.13:44-46) have identical meanings. Both picture salvation as something hidden from most people . . . but so valuable that people who have it revealed to them are willing to give up all they have to possess it.5

Lordship salvation constantly emphasizes what a person must do in order to qualify as a true believer or disciple.6 And limited atonement can't afford to have God be the One purchasing the field—because the field clearly represents the world—without quotes! [The field is the world . . . (Mat. 13:37)].

Here the lordship and limited atonment biases ignore the clear contextual indicators to conclude that the man is a believer who is so serious about pursuing salvation he is willing to pay a huge price! Never mind that everywhere else in the Bible, it is God who does the purchasing of the believer because the believer has nothing to offer toward the price of salvation (Ps. 49:7; Isa. 55:1).

Even Ryrie promotes the view, although he at least mentions the possibility of an alternate interpretation.7

Another possible interpretation equates the man with Christ (as in v. 37) who sacrifices His all to purchase His people.8

For a more fruitful explanation than the MSB or Ryrie provide, consider the following presentation: The Private Parablesa by Steve Lewis

In summary, we must all take care to be in God's Word directly and to discern the biases present in any study aid or teaching we come in contact with. In the case of study Bibles, it has been my experience that new believers are generally not much affected by theological subtleties present in the study notes—until they grow deeper in their understanding of Scripture. By then, our expectation is that they will have grown in discernment so as to be able to detect biases and departures from their own reading of Scripture. Of course, this is an inexact science, but in my view, it isn't a reason to throw any reputable Study Bible out, including The MacArthur Study Bible—which in other ways has much to commend it.

Endnotes:

1. Ref-0089, John 3:16, emphasis mine

2. Ref-0089, John 1:29, emphasis mine

3. Ref-0089, John 15:6

4. Ref-1187, John 15:6

5. Ref-0089, Mat. 13:44-46

6. It seems to me that lordship salvation gives and then takes away where it concerns the security of the believer. Yes, those who are truly saved are secure. But do you really know you are one of them? How is your performance? Are you measuring up, truly obedient? Perhaps you aren’t really a believer . . . in which case eternal security isn’t yours after all!

7. Notice that even our beloved Ryrie misses the boat here—which illustrates that even a favorite study Bible will include suspect interpretations.

8. Ref-1187, Mat. 13:44-46

Sources:

Ref-0089 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997).

Ref-1187 Charles Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 1986, 1995). ISBN:9780802438669b. 

Links Mentioned Above

a - See https://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/Matthew_13_by_Steve_Lewis/006_Matthew_13_44-52/index.htm.

b - See https://spiritandtruth.org/id/isbn.htm?9780802438669.

Strange Bedfellows: Olive Tree Ministries, Prophecy Watchers and Jonathan Cahn, Hope for the World

 How did Jan Markel and Olive Tree Ministries get associated with the False Prophet Jonathan Cahn, and the Nephilim Eschatology of Mondo Gonzales, Co-Host of Prophecy Watchers, L. A. Marzulli, Frequent Guest at Prophecy Watchers and Larry Ollison, Senior Pastor of WOW Faith Church?

These are strange bedfellows. The connection is with Prophecy Waters and Gary Stearman who is sponsoring The Orlando Prophecy Summit. 

This event was brought to my attention by a post on Facebook by Famine in the Land.

Different Soteriological Systems within Protestant Evangelical Christianity